The museum has benefitted from an amazing £2.26 million transformation which includes restoration of the historic Cloth Hall and Corn Stores, creation of a new link building and visitor facilities, and complete refurbishment of all display and activity spaces to increase the total exhibition area by a third.

Travel advisors to visit 5,000 homes
in South Newbury and Greenham.

A survey costing £90,000 is being undertaken by West Berkshire Council and
the WSP Group - Six travel advisors will visit 5,000 homes to record residents current travel habits and suggest alternative ways to travel.

This could be the view of the new Sterling Estate
(from the A339 Rail Bridge)
if plans are approved by West Berkshire Council

Newbury - The West Berkshire Museum -
Before and after refurbishment.

That was then...

...This is now!

(click on the pictures above for a larger image)

The refurbishment of the West Berkshire Museum, including the Cloth Hall and the Corn Store is now complete. During June and July, the artefacts which are currently in storage will be unpacked and arranged for display within the building.
The museum is expected to re-open to the public before the end of August.

Robert Berry, 42, from Newbury was raising money for the National Osteoporosis Society when he collapsed at the finishing line of the London Marathon on Sunday.

Mr Berry, received emergency medical attention but died after being transferred to St Mary's Hospital, in central London.

In a message on his personal website Mr Berry wrote: "This page is dedicated to my mum, who despite being diagnosed with osteoporosis at the relatively early age of 52 years, has been an inspiration through the continued positive outlook she has displayed ever since, despite some quite clear discomfort."

Due to necessary maintenance works the hands on the southern face of the Clock House have been removed to allow the motor which runs the clock to be tested.

It is hoped that the test will only take a few days, and the hands will be reinstated once the works are completed.

Fire at the Newbury Travelodge

Firefighters from the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Services attended the Travel Lodge in London Road Newbury, shortly after 8.00am this morning (Monday) after a report of smoke issuing from the roof.
Two pumps attended and the fire was confined to an electrical intake on the roof. The blaze was extinguished using carbon dioxide extinguishers.
Parkway was closed for a short period, but had fully reopened by 10.00am

Here is a photograph to bring back memories. This was the open space created when a large part of the Cheap Street, Market Street, Bartholomew Street triangle was demolished and before the final phase of the Kennet Shopping Centre was started.
This is the space currently occupied by the northern half of the Kennet Shopping Centre which runs through from Corals in Cheap Street to Caffè Nero and Cargo in Bartholomew Street.
The area was properly landscaped and became a popular spot during the summer months where you could relax and enjoy your lunchtime sandwiches, right in the heart of Newbury Town Centre.
Our records indicate that this photograph was taken during October 1978

The semi-derelict premises in Pound Street Newbury
Soon to be a co-operative Food Store

A new co-operative food store will soon be opening in Newbury. The new store will be at 35 Pound Street, in premises previously occupied by a Pine and Cane warehouse. The store will open every day 7.00am till 11.00pm and sell fresh food, fresh fruit and veg, bakery goods, beer and wine, plus newspapers and magazines.
Refurbishment work will soon begin at the premises with an anticipated late spring opening date.

Oldbury's founder, Simon Carr's vision for the store is, 'to bring back artisan foods, tailored to modern tastes’ and to do this whilst 'reinforcing the traditional high street values of quality and service.' "It's what retail should be about, challenging the norms of choice and quality to give the customer a better experience. Newbury has enough big supermarkets and mass produced coffee shops. We are all aware of the plight of the high street and I think many people are moving away from the larger, impersonal brands and are ready to embrace a more personal and tailored approach to their shopping."

Click & Collect offers all the benefits of shopping online with the added convenience of picking your groceries up at a time that suits you.Click & Collect Groceries is now available from the Tesco Extra store in Pinchington Lane, Newbury.

The operation is quite basic. You order your groceries online, but don't arrange for a delivery at home. Instead for a minimum charge of £2.00 your order is picked in store and then transferred by refrigerated vehicle to a free-standing canopy in the car park, from where you collect at your designated time.

More than 10,000 turned out to join the Corn Exchange’s spectacular fire trail along the Kennet and Avon Canal in Newbury. This three day magical display of fire and music marked the Corn Exchange’s 20th year as a performance venue.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening the excited audience gathered at the West Mills Swing Bridge. As audiences strolled down the canal they were treated to live music, floating flickering braziers, fire sculptures and a twinkling atmospheric fire garden. Audiences young and old wandered between blazing fire sculptures and enjoyed the atmospheric music dotted along the route.

Over the past few years the Corn Exchange in Newbury has been building a reputation for staging ambitious free outdoor arts events. The Corn Exchange’s popular outdoor events usually attract audiences in their thousands. This three day spectacle topped the attendance records for the outdoor programme.

Members of the armed forces who turned out on Sunday, found themselves having to share the Market Place with a food festival. The parade which normally has exclusive use of the Market Place found itself crammed into a small corner in front of the Town Hall.

On Saturday 20 July, experience a glowing, moving, theatrical procession of enormous underwater creatures. As they make their way down Northbrook Street and into the Market Place, these colourful aquatic creatures, schools of darting tropical fish and luminescent jellyfish will swim amongst you and dance above your heads!

This is a FREE event in Newbury Town Centre - Come and enjoy!

Grainger plc appointed for Market Street Development

West Berkshire Council and Network Rail have appointed Grainger plc, the UK's largest listed residential property owner and manager, to comprehensively redevelop a 5.5 acre site in the centre of Newbury.
The site, which lies between the railway station and Market Street and includes the existing bus station and council car park, is not deemed to be suitable for rail travellers coming into central Newbury. Network Rail have already announced that Newbury station is set to benefit from rail line electrification, which will transform the current service from London, delivering faster, greener and quieter travel with extra capacity - and potentially more visitors to the town.
Grainger will now work up plans for a residential led development on the Newbury site that will substantially improve the setting, increase parking for the mainline station, and provide a prominent pedestrian links to Northbrook Street, Market Place and beyond.

As austerity measures continue to bite, there is still one local employer in Newbury, able to provide free parking for it's staff. West Berkshire Council have exclusive use of 145 spaces in a prime location at the rear of their Market Street offices.

West Berkshire Council propose 2% increase in Council Tax
for 2013 - 2014

Proposed budget and council tax would protect front line services
and support investment

Front line services and West Berkshire Council priorities will remain on track if budget proposals for a below-inflation council tax rise of just 2% are approved.

Details of the proposed budget for 2013-14 will go before a meeting of the Council’s Executive on 14 February for consideration. The proposals acknowledge the Council’s priorities of improving education, promoting a vibrant district, caring for the vulnerable, and protecting the environment.

Budget details proposed include investment of £8.5 million to improve maintenance of the district’s road network, and a £14 million capital programme for our schools making good use of grants and developer contributions. The Council also takes on delivery of public health services from 1 April. The proposed revenue budget is £122 million - £1.2 million less than last year, and £2.4 million less than the year before that.

Shopfitting is well underway at the old Barclays Bank premises in the Market Place. The ground floor is to become a new location for Ladbrokes the Bookmakers, who may be vacating their current premises in Market Street.
Also a planning application has been submitted to West Berkshire Council to convert the upper floors to residential use. Eight two bedroom flats on the existing floors and construction of a third floor to provide three additional one bedroom flats.
This is just one of many planning applications in the pipeline to convert commercial space in Newbury Town Centre to residential use. (Many of them without provision for car parking)

Last week, Newbury Town Council set a budget for the coming year that delivers improved services to the town’s residents without increasing demands on the public purse.
Included in the budget is new funding for detached youth work which helps disadvantaged young people in the town.
Council Leader, Cllr Julian Swift-Hook, said, “Our budget is excellent value for money because it doesn’t ask the taxpayer for more money while at the same time provides even more services, especially to those who need it most".

“In this difficult financial climate we are doing our best to support organisations that support our residents. We have increased our funding to Newbury’s Citizen Advice Bureau and Neighbourhood Wardens, and our new funding for detached youth work increases the provision by 50%. If young people have worthwhile ways to spend their time, it helps them to be valuable contributors to our community and it discourages anti-social behaviour".

"The new rules requiring District Councils to pay for Council Tax benefits that were previously paid by Government will have an impact on the way that town and parish councils are funded from this year onwards, but Newbury Town Council has done its bit to ensure that it has not caused any changes to residents’ tax bills.”